US Open Draw: Carlos Alcaraz likely to meet Jannik Sinner in QFs; Djokovic opens against Muller

Reigning US Open winner and World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz will start his title defence against Dominik Koepfer and could meet sixth seed Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals

New York: Reigning US Open winner and World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz will start his title defence against Dominik Koepfer and could meet sixth seed Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals in what would be a rematch of their outstanding 2022 New York clash, following the release of the draw.

The top seed Alcaraz, who is going for his third major championship at the hard-court Slam, is coming off of a strong finish at Cincinnati. The 20-year-old is on the same side as third-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who would be his opponent in the semifinals and is slated to play 16th-ranked Cameron Norrie in the fourth round.

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The 27-year-old Medvedev lifted his maiden major title at the US Open in 2021. He will open his campaign against Attila Balazs and could meet Toronto finalist Alex de Minaur in the fourth round. Medvedev’s long-time friend Andrey Rublev is a potential quarterfinal opponent.

In the bottom half, record 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will face Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the first round. The 36-year-old Serbian, who is a three-time US Open champion, is in the same quarter as seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who could meet American Taylor Fritz in the fourth round. Tsitsipas will open his campaign against former World No. 3 Milos Raonic.

Djokovic is seeded to meet Laslo Djere in the third round and 2021 semi-finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round.

Casper Ruud, who finished in the top four last year, is also in the bottom half and will play fourth-seeded Holger Rune in the quarterfinals. Djokovic is seeded to face the winner if he makes it to the final four.

Ruud from Norway is in 10th place (2,580 points) in the ATP Live Race to Turin and will be hoping to advance further in New York to improve his prospects of competing in the ATP Finals. Rune is currently in seventh place (3,045 points) and is hoping to make his debut in the famous year-end competition.

The 2020 finalist Alexander Zverev, currently eighth in the ATP Live Race To Turin (2,670 points), is in the top quarter of the draw. He opens against Aleksandar Vukic and could meet Sinner in the fourth round.